With artwork consisting of naked women, red devils, an apocalyptic wasteland
with skeletons and devastation and a band photo showing five mean and moody
characters it's safe to say that Avenged Sevenfold live, breath and worship
at the altar of rock. This is a band who love the imagery and devil worshipping
ethos which many metal outfits take for granted. You take it with a pinch
of salt as it's probably very tongue in cheek, but you've got to admire
their tenacity. "City Of Evil" is an album which will please the most dedicated
head banging adolescent as it's an absolute labour of love for the appropriately
named Avenged Sevenfold.

"Burn It Down" has tommy gun delivery drumming from The Reb, hardly
pausing for breath as his primal instinct and determined sense of intensity
remains unbridled. The gruff, macho vocals of M Shadows are well suited
for lines such as "Hatred fuels my blood. I'll burn ya down (you can't
help me)". He's not a man to forgive easily is he? Regardless of such vitriolic
bile from the furious frontman there's a sweetness to the melody with a
nostalgia for Thin Lizzy, Metallica and even The Darkness with Sinister
Gates on lead guitar, a Slash styled genius.

"Trashed And Scattered" has language not advisable for the faint hearted
amongst us. It's very much of the old school variety with a speaker vibrating
bass so heavy Johnny Christ must be shaking as he plucks the strings. The
track is well structured, commercial musically (but certainly not lyrically)
with a rap interlude and axe wielding guitars a plenty. "The Wicked End"
is more of the same but less bombastic and more tuneful. It's a seven minute
epic, ambitious, arguably pompous with lavish strings and a choir, very
stirring and effective. Lyrically it's doom, loom and dread with references
to so much destruction and vengeance that you feel exhausted by the end
of it.

The most moving track on the album is "Betrayed", a fitting tribute
in memory of Dimebag which really does the ex-Pantera member proud. It's
apparent in the lyrics how much he will be missed with the fitting epitaph
of "Just did it for the love, and people healed through us". You could
describe this as a worthy power ballad with echoes of Korn.

"City Of Evil" is a metal album no fan of the genre can do without.
Avenged Sevenfold can do without. Avenged Sevenfold is a name we'll know
even better when the rest of the world catches up to them.